This loss-avoidance ailment is characterized
by an irrational and often paralyzing fear. In Freudian
terms, the investor's "id" assails the "ego"
and floods his or her mind with images of negative consequences
-- drowning out the possibility of investment success.

Those who are afflicted by this condition
constantly ask "What if?" and are so fixated by the
possibility of loss or underperformance that they take
no action, even where action is warranted.

Treatment:
Consider carving out your basic needs for the next two
years, and putting that into a separate account, says
Matt McGrath, financial planner with the Miami area
wealth management firm Evensky & Katz. "That way
you can take your focus off the short-term impacts and
focus on the long-term plan for the rest."

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